


Left in Memories

by Ahhuya



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Angst, I'm adding more tags as the story progesses, M/M, otherwise I'm spoiling the plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5679310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahhuya/pseuds/Ahhuya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes it’s best to leave things where they were left behind. (orginally posted on tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this after I made up a huge AU about magical girl Ja'far with a friend. So yeah... it's a bit strange in the beginning but as the story progresses, it should become better. Also, this has become a fic I write when I have no ideas for my other fanfics, so updates can take a long time ^-^'

Ja’far ran. He couldn’t do anything else. How they had found him, he didn’t know. It wasn’t how he had expected to spend his evening. Fighting, that was what he did every day, but being chased around, having to escape the claws of monsters, that was something what barely happened. Ja’far was sure he hadn’t done anything that could’ve made these guys multiply the way they did. But that wasn’t important now. They knew his location all the time, making it impossible for him to return to his house in one go.

He hid in the closest alleyway he could find,  a swarm of smaller creatures passed by, not noticing him immediately. A soft, relieved breath escaped the man, but too early. Before he could catch his breath, he heard the sound of claws against the side of the alley. There really was no escape. As the monster jumped down, hoping to catch the young man splattered on the ground while covered in blood, but he launched himself against the wall, up to the rooftops. Small traces of thunder followed his tracks. He could hear the growls underneath him. More thunder arose as he reached the roof, surely it was enough to keep the monsters busy for a few seconds. He didn’t need much time, if anything he was always prepared for these kind of situations. He just had to get a few buildings ahead, switch out of his clothes and into his normal ones. If he didn’t carry the scent of magic on him, he would be fine. These monsters didn’t seem like the kind that would attack normal civilians. No, they were created to smell magic and hunt its user.

Only the small bolts of lightning followed him next. Swiftly Ja’far jumped down again and landed next to a small café. The place was his favorite, a great spot to get coffee in the morning. Even know, dead tired from fighting, he could use some coffee. From behind a trash container he pulled out a bag with clothes. One last look to see if the monsters really weren’t around. He was safe for now, and if he were quick, he would stay safe.

When he got into his plain clothes, he threw his magical ones into the bag and hid them behind the container again. It was too dangerous to take them with him now. Even if the monster would find his clothes, they were useless without a person to wear them and use their powers. So carrying them around the city would only get him back in the battles. One more time he looked around before he entered the café for his coffee. He was still safe.

**…**

Content and in good spirits he left the building again. An hour had passed and he hadn’t seen a single monster out to kill him. Except for the small ones that crawled in front of the window, but those were harmless. Zero monsters meant that he could go and retrieve his clothes now.

The alley was still as he had left it, smelling of trash and nothing but one big mess spread around the ground. He knelt down at the container and pushed at aside.

_‘this can’t be happening… how?’_

He cursed in his mind, this could not be real. It was a lie, somebody had to be playing a prank with him.

The bag was gone.

**\---Not much earlier---**

The city was boring. Sinbad had never expected he would be the one to say that, but it was the truth. Not a thing ever happened and his classes had just gotten more difficult than they had ever been. It was nothing but hell. He sighed softly. Even walking through the best shopping district in town didn’t help him. When the man was bored, he needed a good distraction to be put out of that state. At times like this he wished he still lived at the countryside. But the inevitable reality that he’d be even more bored out there always hit him.

The smell of cake and fresh coffee entered his nose as he found himself walking past a little café. Disappointed, he shook his head. He had no money. These things always happened, he had gotten used to it. Without his friends to remind him he had to pay for his own things once in a while, he would’ve been kicked out of every house or club immediately.

Even though he couldn’t buy himself a cake or a coffee, he could at least look inside. There was no one who could tell that that wasn’t allowed. Just a short look. Just so that he wouldn’t be tempted to go and get someone to buy it all for him again. But his eyes didn’t meet cake. They met a silver haired guy, sipping his coffee as he stared at something in the distance. He seemed concerned, but also relaxed. Sinbad had never seen a guy combine those two things as good as he did. Only when saw the other man look back at him, did Sinbad notice he had been staring for more than just a few seconds. Before the situation would grow more awkward, Sinbad looked away and ran into the alley next to the building. It smelled horribly, but it was fine. He leaned against the wall and cleared his mind of thoughts.

 _‘Well, whatever’_ he thought to himself and prepared to get back to walking around in boredom. But the moment he did so, he noticed something behind the trash container that stood in the alleyway.  A bag, filled with beautiful clothes. The purple haired man didn’t have to think twice. These were too good to leave behind in the trash.

 


	2. Chapter 2

A small tint of magic hung in the air the moment Ja’far stepped inside the school. His senses sharpened at this feeling. He knew where this was coming from: his clothes. But as he had not found them after losing them the other day, someone inside the building must’ve found them before he had. His hands clenched into tight fists. His magic wasn’t something a normal person could start to play around with.

The feeling was faint, showing that whoever was in possession of this power, did not use it. Whether they did not know of the power they carried with them or kept their new found strength a secret, Ja’far didn’t know. It didn’t matter anyways. He had to get his things back before the city would fall apart.

Lost in his thoughts he passed class A’s room.

“No, I’m telling you Sharrkan-” Ja’far looked up as he passed the open door. He knew that voice. Class A’s Sinbad if he had remembered correctly. The guy brought nothing but trouble, someone Ja’far loved to avoid.

“You found a bag with clothes in an alley. That’s not special, Sinbad.” That was Sharrkan, one of Sinbad’s close friends and another person Ja’far couldn’t stand listening to.

“But look at these things. I’m telling you these aren’t normal.” From the corner of his eye, Ja’far saw a bag in Sinbad’s hands. His bag, the bag that no one was supposed to find. How did it get in the hands of this idiot?

“H-“ Ja’far wanted to call out the guy, but he got interrupted by a sudden hug.

“Ja’far!~ Good morning!” Pisti said. “What are you doing, staring into class A like that?” Her gaze followed the way Ja’far was turned to, eyes widened the moment they spotted the target. “Sinbad?! Are you for real Ja’far? I thought you hated that guy.”

“I do and we should get to class Pisti. Not stare at other people.” He said and turned around to get to his own classroom. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t speak to him now, he most surely would have a word with the man today.

**…**

“Give them back.”

Sinbad looked up from his desk, noticing the gray haired guy next to him. He remembered that gray hair, it was the same as he had seen sitting in that café. Right, he knew that pretty face. How could he forget Ja’far. The mysterious one in all classes.

“Give what back?” He asked.

“My bag with clothes, I know you have it.”

“Clothes? What are you talking about?” Even if he did know, Sinbad doubted he would give anything back this easy. Not when this particular guy was involved.

“I heard you talk with Sharrkan this morning and those clothes you found in the trash are mine. I want them back.”  Ja’far leaned over the desk, looking Sinbad straight in his eyes. This was serious matter and the purple haired man should understand that.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sinbad said and slowly pushed the clothes deep in his bag. “And what if I have them and give them to you? What would I get in return?” A smirked formed on his face, making Ja’far shiver in discomfort.

“Nothing. It’s not like you did me a favor by finding them. I’ll get them back no matter what. It’d just make it easier for both of us if you’d return them right now.” He walked away again to his own desk, cursing softly under his breath as he pulled out the books he needed for his class. He could hear whispers coming from Yamuraiha, which was exactly what he didn’t need in his life. What was seen by Yamuraiha would be told to Pisti and that meant that this would end up being understood by everyone. And that was something he could not use on top of the situation.

**…**

A week had passed and Sinbad was done with Ja’far attitude. The same applied to Ja’far when it came to Sinbad. Any class Sinbad had with him turned into a small disaster because a certain someone wanted his clothes back so desperately. In the beginning Sinbad thought of it as a way to tease the guy first. Even though Sinbad could not find a reason to keep the clothes in his possession, giving them back to Ja’far only meant he would never speak to the guy again. So Sinbad refused when Ja’far requested his bag. Something that lead to things Sinbad had not seen coming, but slightly enjoyed. Ja’far would yell at him, destroy his projects or take his homework away from him, hiding it in places Sinbad couldn’t find. Much did it not bother the older man. He never did his homework and his projects were usually enough for a low grade, another failing grade didn’t matter to him. It only made the teachers mad. Ja’far was swift in his actions, not leaving a trace he was sabotaging Sinbad.

But Sinbad liked it. He loved getting attention, even if it was the bad kind for now. Sharrkan was on his side, he knew that. But that guy had no idea what this fight was even about. To anyone outside this conflict seemed like a stupid quarrel. It had looked that way the whole week. But now, something had changed.

“You are going down, stupid A’ers.” Pisti yelled inside the classroom before entering her own.

“Yeah, well you’re just jealous you can’t be in this class.” Sharrkan responded, his voice louder than Pisti’s. Sinbad sat between the two, groaning as he heard them calling out to each other. How it had happened, he couldn’t understand.

Ja’far however knew exactly how it had started. It was Pisti, just like he had thought she would. Rumors spread and his attempts to get back what belonged to him were thrown back into his face. People had started to pick sides during the time he had talked to Sinbad. Class A was on Sinbad’s side and class B had somehow picked Ja’far as its leader. What bothered Ja’far the most was the fact that neither sides knew what the fight was about. All because little Pisti did not care to listen in on their conversation, something that surprised both men.

Pisti knew Sinbad was interested in Ja’far. And now, with them fighting, she had used the quarrel to spread her rumors further into the school. The sound of whispers echoing through the hallways filled her with joy. But even the plotting queen had to pick sides one day. And she of course chose for her own class. Hell, she even followed Ja’far wherever he went, calling him her _‘general’_ as a joke. Her friends followed that teasing, but teasing grew into something bigger. A war.

**…**

The next time Ja’far tried to approach Sinbad, he felt the rest of his class standing behind him at a small distance. Even though he wanted to enter the classroom, slam his hands on Sinbad’s desk and drag him outside to finally get his things back, he was unable to do so. The doorway was already one step to far. He felt eyes stare at him. Mumbling voices and whispers about how Ja’far was the worst and should just return to his hell.

“Sinbad, can talk to you one minute?” Ja’far asked, his question quickly overruled by uprising commentary.

“Are you going to call him out for a fight?” There was Pisti. Ja’far knew she wouldn’t be too far away.

“I am not. I just want to ask him something.” _‘I’m not fighting him yet’_ Ja’far thought. But if Sinbad would refuse for a longer amount of time, he would find a solution on his own.

“You shouldn’t bother talking to someone from A. Just stay to your roots _general_ Ja’far. B will always be better.”  Pisti said as tugged at his sleeve.

“Maybe.” He muttered as he walked out of the doorway. He didn’t hate class though. But Pisti was good at manipulating and right now he could not approach Sinbad at all. He heard laughter coming from inside the room and without doubt Sinbad was looking at him, enjoying his victory.

 


	3. Chapter 3

What was so tempting about those clothes? Was it the fact that they were Ja’far’s? Or just that they had been meant to be worn and he had neglected that for such a long time? He couldn’t tell what it was that made him put them on. He was sitting in his room and stared at the things as they lay in front of him. They were strange, nothing he would think of wearing. But something was special about them, he didn’t need someone to tell him that. They were begging him to put them on, to discover the treasures that were now hidden from him.

He had returned home after a long day of having class B trying to sabotage his work. It was normal now, the war as they called it had become as if there had never been love between the neighboring classrooms. It was A vs B, Sinbad vs Ja’far. And one side would win one day. Everyone was sure of it. And now that he had found some spare time, Sinbad didn’t expect himself to slowly pick them up and change in to them.

When fabric his skin, he felt a wave of energy surge through his body. His senses got sharper, the fatigue he had been feeling seemed to have never existed. He had never felt this powerful before, not even when he got called the king of his classmates. No, that had been just a title, something funny. This was pure power, he knew it.

He senses tingled as if danger was close. Instinct, Sinbad knew as he rarely felt like this.  There was something around that should be destroyed. Something was endangering peace. How stupid those thoughts sounded to himself. But no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake this feeling of. He had to go out, he had to find the source of his worry.

**…**

The streets seemed… different. Even though they were still the same, Sinbad now saw creatures in the alleys. Small monsters, things he had never noticed before. It couldn’t be just his imagination. He refused to believe he had gone insane all of a sudden. There wasn’t a thing that said that wearing the clothes of different person made you lose your mind. But then again, everything had started with these things. He came in contact with an angry Ja’far and now ran through the streets watching monsters that hid as soon as he passed them. They weren’t the threat he’d been feeling all the time. That mass of bad energy was further down the city. At some place where less people were. And for once Sinbad was glad he could get away from the people’s eyes. Not only did he want to keep everyone safe from whatever was coming to them, he also felt as if he looked ridiculous in Ja’far’s strange clothes. So it was the best like this.

**…**

His worry had been right. That monster surely was the real deal. In comparison to the ones in the alleys, this one was a giant. Sinbad stood a few meters away, hidden in the shadow of the houses, watching the menace make his way the center of the city. Sinbad wasn’t scared, this feeling he had wasn’t one of fear. He felt excited. Something like this was a one of a kind experience and right now he felt like he had the power to take the thing down with his own hands.

The monster roared and turned to the street Sinbad had been hiding in. A shiver went down his spine. Earlier the monster had been ‘just big’ , but now its hideous features came in sight. Fangs, claws and eyes that seemed to pierce right through the stone walls. Slowly Sinbad’s confidence started to fade. This thing was real, not a hallucination. Or at least it seemed too realistic to be a dream. Even the stench that came from the thing was too much.

It was a few steps away and there was no time to be a coward. _‘Just follow the movies, the hero always wins even if he doesn’t seem to have chance’_ Sinbad thought as he slowly took a step towards the creature.

“Over here!” He yelled. Yes, today he would be a hero.

Red eyes focused on the tiny figure in front of it.

 _‘A weapon’_ Sinbad knew he should’ve done something before actually challenging this menace. _‘Come on, something useful, something to kick this guy’s butt. I already got power, a weapon should be no problem’._ He could see a claw being raised. In a second he jumped aside, a hole replaced his shadow.

“I could really use a weapon now!” Sinbad growled, irritation grew inside him. Slowly a leaf fell down the sky, landing between him and the monster. His eyes followed the thing as it moved in the wind. There were no trees around, the leaf had just appeared out of nowhere. Another leaf, and another one. It was raining fig leaves. A minute after touching the ground, they disappeared once again, evaporating in little sparkles.

Sinbad lifted his hands, the sparks came from his fingertips as well. A soft snap with his fingers made a leaf end up in the palm of his hand.

“What is-“ He wanted to question the situation, but his opponent didn’t give him time to do so. Those claws came faster than he wanted. If it wasn’t for his new powers he would’ve been dead immediately after the fight had started.

“Just stop this already!” He yelled, while evading the claws coming at him. As if it heard his voice, a storm of fig leaves crashed down from the sky, hitting the creature with full force.

“That… worked?” Sinbad asked himself, he couldn’t believe it. But the monster had stopped moving, so he had won, right?

“You idiot! What are you doing?” A familiar voice sounded through the street.

Sinbad turned around, a smile ran across his face. “Ja’far! Do you see how powerful I am?”

Ja’far walked to the center of the street where the monster lay covered in leaves. He picked one of them of the ground and crushed it. “How do you call this powerful? You’re using it all wrong. Did you really think you could take something out with leaves?! Not even the tiniest monster would be scared of that.”

“They did run away when they saw me.” The other remarked.

“They ran away because they could still sense my powers coming from those clothes. But you’ve almost replaced all of it with your clumsiness. There’s no monster that’d stay away from you. Your magic is too easy to grab. You’re throwing it around and you can’t concentrate it.” 

“And how do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been doing this for years!” Ja’far shouted. “You just-“ He stopped for a moment. The leafs had started to disappear slowly and as the monster was no longer covered underneath a thick layer of green, it started to move again.

“Shit, this is your fault.” The gray-haired male cursed. “Give me back my clothes.”

“But,” There was no time. The monster wouldn’t wait until they had finished their conversation. Ja’far doubted the thing even cared for human language. All that mattered was that the thing had to be defeated. He felt thankful for the martial arts he had gotten to learn as a child. He needed it now. He kicked (hitting with his bare hands had no effect) until his energy was gone. The rain of leaves that had tried to be a support in the beginning, had stopped. When he looked around, he noticed Sinbad had left. He could do nothing but to accept that the claw that came towards him, would be a sure hit.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to call this: Ja'far says no, Sinbad says yes

The moment he came home, Sinbad threw his clothes in the corner of his room. He didn’t want to touch them anymore, the horror they had brought with them still moved in front of him. He could feel the dark energy the monster had emitted and how helpless he had felt back in that alley. When he wasn’t sitting with his back against the wall, he felt like the red eyes stared at him. But even the wall didn’t stop that feeling as Sinbad was almost sure those things could see straight through stone. He was scared, he didn’t want to admit it, but he surely was scared. After all, if Ja’far hadn’t showed up back then, then…. He didn’t want to think about it. Those leaves of his didn’t make things better. They just fell down, useless. Just like him.

**…**

The next day he went back to school as if nothing had happened. He carried the magical clothes in his bag. He had made up his mind and they indeed belonged to Ja’far. Sinbad would give them back to him as an apology. He knew running away had been a bad decision, but it had been the fear that had made him do it. And this was Ja’far he was talking about. The guy had hurt the monster more than Sinbad with his leaves. Ja’far was fine, there was no doubt about that.

As he stepped into the hallway that led to his classroom, he could hear the yelling of his classmates. Sharrkan ran around, being chased by the blue haired genius of class B.

“Magic isn’t real, you idiot. It’s true manpower that counts!” He said to the girl.

“It’s science, not magic. But simpleminded guys from class A could never understand that.” She yelled back at him. Sinbad knew the two had never had a good relationship, but now with the war it had only been worsened. The two didn’t even talk in a normal way anymore. Discussion was the only way they could exchange words. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if they would confess their love this way. But those were the rumors going around. And when a rumor went around, they always came from Pisti whose words weren’t that trustworthy. But as the two bickering teenagers walked past, Sinbad decided they weren’t worth his attention. The one he had to speak to was Ja’far after all.

**…**

“Pisti, is Ja’far around?” Sinbad stood in the opening of class B’s door when lunchbreak started. The girl jerked up from her chair, her friends glared at him. He was in enemy territory, his army had left to eat, the leader was alone.

“Sinbad? YOU are looking for Ja’far?” The girl walked closer, the tone in her voice was imitating. “You have no reason to look for him, WE need our leader back right now! We all know you took him.”

“What do you mean? I haven’t seen him today, I wanted to talk with him, that’s all.” Sinbad tried to reason with her.

“Well, you’re out of luck. He didn’t come to school. And as long as he’s not here, I’m the leader of class B. So you’d better show some respect.”

Sinbad shrugged his shoulders before he turned his back to her. Pisti wasn’t worth his time, not when this war was between him and Ja’far. He felt an uneasy feeling coming up in his stomach. He heard the girl yell things about ‘him having kidnapped their leader’, but he didn’t liten. Ja’far had not come to school yet. The guy never missed a day of school. He felt that his grades were too important. Even when the guy was sick, he would try to follow his classes. Something had happened and Sinbad knew he was the one who had started it all.   

No one would come to save Ja’far, no one knew about these clothes or their secret. Only he, only Sinbad…

…

When Ja’far didn’t answer his stream of calls, and didn’t open the door when Sinbad knocked a hundred times, he was sure something had gone wrong. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was the one at fault. In the alley next to the café where he first seen Ja’far and where he had found the cursed clothes, he put them on once more. The monsters came into vision again, their tiny body crawled across the ground and buildings. Ja’far had been right when he said that no monster would be afraid of him. Their attitude had changed. They no longer ran away, instead they came closer, a glistering of red in their eyes. But they couldn’t get close to their target, Sinbad was already running of to find Ja’far.

**…**

All of Ja’fars words returned to him as he spotted the place where the biggest monsters resided.

_‘Sinbad, I need to clothes back, I have enemies who want to capture me.’_

_‘Sure, you can’t fool me, Ja’far. The life of a magical girls is only happiness and love. Watch the movies.’_

_‘Don’t just believe the movies. This is real life, Sinbad. And without those clothes, you and I will both be in danger.’_

_‘I can protect whoever I want. And I can protect you as well, Ja’far.’_

_‘I doubt it. Sinbad, this enemy of mine sends these monsters. They’re attracted to the scent of my magic. Returning those clothes now will make sure they can’t come to hunt you down.’_

_‘Ja’far, I won’t say it again. You don’t need those clothes, I will defeat any monster that tries to harm you.’_

‘I’m an idiot for not listening to him’ Sinbad thought to himself. How many times would he have to tell himself that? Of course Ja’far had been right, he was always right. And now the both of them were in trouble because of Sinbad’s idiocy. Sinbad shook his head a few times to ban the thoughts from his mind, but it didn’t do much. The feeling of guilt stayed and there was nothing he could do about it. Except, if he gave Ja’far his clothes back now and disappeared forever, there would be no grudge, right?

His plan would work without doubt. He took another step, the monster looked at him. Those red eyes were still terrifying, but Sinbad had made up his mind. A tornado of leaves fell down the sky, engulfing the purple haired man and his enemies.

**…**

“Ja’far!” Sinbad ran into the old warehouse. The room was filled with darkness, tared curtains hung in front of the windows, allowing only small rays of sunlight to enter the building. Against the walls stood machines, some seemed like laser cannons, others Sinbad couldn’t figure out what their purpose could be. Slowly he walked forwards, his footsteps echoed in the large space. In the distance he could hear soft whispers and groaning. He fastened his walking until he could finally see him.

Ja’far was tied against a machine. He looked tired, hurt and when his eyes met Sinbad’s, terrified.

“Ja’far…” Sinbad whispered as he took a step closer.

“Sinbad, don’t come any closer.” Ja’far told him.

Sinbad shook his head, not accepting the rejection. “This was all my fault, I should’ve returned those clothes earlier.”

“I will be fine, Sinbad. You only make things worse, go home now.”

“No. You got hurt because I was too stubborn to give the clothes back to you and I won’t let that happen again.” No matter what Ja’far tried to say, Sinbad wouldn’t listen. With his powers he summoned one last fig leave, one that he hoped would not disappear in a few minutes. Then he slipped out of the clothes. His last leaf, he put in front of his privates. Clothes in his hands, he walked to the chained figure.

“These are yours Ja’far, they have always been yours.” He draped them around Ja’far’s worn out body. He was sure they would give the guy enough power to break free, even if he didn’t wear them. What he didn’t expect was the screaming that came the second fabric hit skin. The pain was written over all over Ja’far’s face. The machines that had no power, seemed to give of a soft glow and somewhere in the distance, Sinbad thought he could hear laughter. But what he heard the most were the screams. Pure pain and terror. Those gray eyes had stared at him in hatred first, now they rolled to the back of his head. It was torture and there was nothing Sinbad could do about it. He watched, watched how Ja’far screamed and tried to escape.

_He could only watch and do nothing_

**…**

How long had it been when the screams finally died out and Ja’far’s head slumped down. His body hung lifeless in those chains. Laughter continued where the screams had stopped.

_‘Now, now. It seems our new protector has been of great help to me. You can’t even recognize a trap when you enter one and your friend warns you. Whatever, you can have Freckles back, he is of no importance to me anymore. Take him out of here.’_

The voice was teasing with him, but Sinbad couldn’t be bothered to look for its source. The shackles around Ja’far’s wrists loosened and the white haired guy fell down on the floor.

“Ja’far…” Sinbad whispered. He shook Ja’far’s shoulder softly, wishing he’d get a response. But he got nothing in return.

“Ja’far, I’m sorry, I should’ve listened to you.” _Like I should’ve from the beginning, but I never learn._

The head lifted up from the ground and Sinbad gained hope again. But all of it was shattered when dull eyes stared at him. Every trace of Ja’far was gone.

_And it was all his fault._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a tiny writer's block and I write so many stories I sometimes forget what I want to write... but here it is! A new chapter.

He tried to act normal. There was nothing else Sinbad could do in this situation. He had brought Ja’far back to his apartment the other day and, even though it felt wrong, left him there with the message to show up at school tomorrow. Now that it was ‘tomorrow’ Sinbad was actually surprised he saw the gray-haired man sitting in his classroom.  But how much of Ja’far was present he wondered? He stared lifelessly at the blackboard, ignoring his classmates. When Pisti saw her sworn enemy in sight, the girl ran to her leader, hung over his desk and poked him.

“Ja’far! You have to help us or class A is going to destroy us.”

No response came, the empty space in front of him clearly held his interest.

“Ja’far…” Sinbad whispered softly. Ja’far blinked once, but before Sinbad could speak to him again, the girls Pisti and Yamuraiha shooed him away. Of course Sinbad was still an enemy to them, someone who would only try to hurt their leader. They had no idea on what was going on, but Sinbad couldn’t tell them either. They wouldn’t believe him if he said there had been monsters and a mysterious man who had made Ja’far into who he was now: an emotionless wreck, an empty shell.

**…**

Ja’far hadn’t moved when classes had ended. The moment Sinbad checked the classroom which he had expected to be empty, he noticed Ja’far was still staring at something that wasn’t there. His classmates had left, Pisti had bothered Sinbad most of the day _. ‘You did this to our leader’ ‘don’t think our class will go down that easily’_ , it was true, but not in the way Pisti said them. Yes, Sinbad was responsible for this situation. But he never expected his actions would have created this… this mess. He had messed up before. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he _didn’t_ screw up. But every time it had worked out fine. Somehow it would be fixed. But this wasn’t something he could fix or at least he didn’t know how he would fix someone’s emotions. He slowly walked to the figure and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Ja’far, it’s time to go home.” He spoke softly and waited for a response.

“Ja’far…” Sinbad said again. This time Ja’far turned to him.

“You can’t stay here forever, you should return to your apartment.”

Ja’far’s eyes were blank.

“I can walk you home, it’s close to my place.”

And all of this was his fault.

“Come on, Ja’far. School will be closing soon.”

He took his hand, Sinbad knew there was no other way to get Ja’far to follow him. Hesitant Ja’far stood up, but everything was better than having him sit in that classroom forever.

…

It couldn’t go like this any longer. The school had noticed Ja’far’s behavior, who wouldn’t after one week? Ja’far hadn’t changed at all, if Sinbad didn’t quite literally push him out of his chair, the younger male wouldn’t leave or move. And because of that, Ja’far now had to find help. A psychologist seemed to be perfect for the job.

Sinbad sulked through the streets, tugging Ja’far along with him. He didn’t want anyone else to accompany him to the psychologist. This was Ja’far they were talking about, he already had so many problems, he didn’t have to share them with everyone. Sinbad had even preferred that Ja’far didn’t have to talk about his problems at all. But every time he looked at those sulking eyes, he knew there was nothing else to do.

They stopped in front of the building Ja’far had his appointment at, but it looked more like a rundown apartment building than an office for a wise man. The front door opened and a young man stood in the opening. His long, black braid immediately grabbed Sinbad attention, along with his blood red eyes.

“I was waiting for you, come in.” The man said as he took Ja’far’s hand and dragged him into the house. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you.”

The door slammed shut in front of Sinbad’s face. All he could hear were the whispers coming from the inside.

_“Now let’s continue where we left off last time… Freckles.”_

**…**

Things turned out to be even worse than before. Ja’far had looked more dead whenever Sinbad saw him in his classroom and within two weeks, Ja’far stopped to coming to school at all. He had just ‘disappeared’, no one could contact him. Ja’far was never one to share his personal information with his classmates. If he did, Sinbad thought, his phone would blow up from Pisti’s ongoing messages about the war. But what did the war matter to both commanders? Nothing. Sinbad had given up immediately and class B no longer had their leader to tell them what to do. All who fought were the students without the support of their commanders.

The skies had started to grow grim, dark clouds covered the usually blue sky. It could only mean something was wrong and Sinbad didn’t want to know what it was, for it could never be good news. But Ja’far wasn’t there to help, Sinbad’s guilt gnawed at him, he had to go no matter what.  

…

The surroundings were still printed in Sinbad’s memories. Those buildings, he could never forgot them. The way Ja’far’s screams had sounded from inside them, it still haunted him in his dreams. But he had get over that, because the real threat stood in front of him. A machine, probably as high as the building, stood outside. Next to it was a lone figure of a man.

Red eyes forced themselves on the alley where Sinbad stood and laughter arose.

“Did freckles send you?” The manning asked cunning.

“Freckles?” Sinbad knew he had that name before, how could he have so stupid not to notice before.

“That friend of yours. The one you came to save so desperately. Those screams sounded beautiful.” The man stepped closer, his grin widening. “And when I talked with him these past days, that expression of death pleased me to no limit and my machine didn’t mind all that energy either.”

Oh, he really was an idiot wasn’t he? That voice, the black braid, those eyes and that annoying way of talking. He was behind this all, he was just as guilty as Sinbad was, maybe even more. That stupid enemy.

“What do you want to do? You’ve made his life miserable already, can’t you just stop.”

The raven shook his head. “I’ve built this awesome device, I won’t let it go to waste. I’m going to blow up the moon.” He smile grew even larger, something Sinbad had thought to be impossible.

“The moon? Really? Why do that?” Sinbad asked him.

“It’s something every villain wants to do, right? Soon everyone knows it was the great Judar who destroyed the moon and everyone shall fear me.”

Sinbad concluded that just meant the guy was nothing but a big idiot. A spoiled brat who was bored and loved to see others suffer. Sinbad turned away, he knew what to do.

“Are you running away for my amazing power? Well you’re not wrong.” Were the words that were thrown into his face. But Sinbad didn’t listen to them for he would not run away another time.

**…**

He never thought he’d be glad to see those dull eyes again, but he was.

“What do you want?” Ja’far asked as he stood in the door opening.

“I need your clothes once more, I’m going to stop your, no OUR enemy.” Sinbad said as he invited himself in. They had brought the clothes to Ja’far’s apartment when the ‘accident’ had happened. Mostly because Sinbad believed that they could be able to bring Ja’far’s emotions back, but also since he didn’t want to be remembered of his actions any longer.

He opened the wardrobe, tried to ignore the low amount of clothes present and took out the piece he needed.

_He had to remember his mistakes to know how to fix them._

**…**

Thunder rolled down the sky. The dark clouds Judar had summoned were no longer under his control. They gave power to a stronger force now, one that was angry, one that wanted to restore the world. In a ray of lightning he crashed down on a roof. Sinbad. In his hand he held a sword, a new power flowed through his veins. The leaves were gone, his emotions were now strong enough to fight.

Judar’s eyes shot up. Hate and fear could be seen in them. Curses slipped under his breath, his machine had almost been ready. His fame was so close, but in the next roar of thunder he knew he could forget it for now.

A ray of lightning flew down and the street was drowned in white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know, these chapters are quite hard to write sometimes and I try my best to write it well. Idk, the rest should probably be better?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so bad at uploading at a good schedule... well whatever, that's me :'D

The singing of birds danced through the morning sky. In the early sunlight, young animals curled up to sleep a little longer. They had no reason to be afraid. Shadows no longer loomed over the city, the skies had been clear for weeks. Everyone went on with their normal lives, going to school or work. Everyone except for two people. One who had lost everything and one who blamed himself for it.

**…**

_When he could finally see again through the bright light, it was already too late. Judar found his machine wiped away. His one try to gain fame was gone. He looked in front of him, long strands of purple hair coming into his vision. The sword was still in the man’s hand, bolts of electricity jumping of once in a while._

_“Give up now.” Sinbad growled. The grip around his weapon tightened. Judar couldn’t help but to laugh softly._

_“You already destroyed my weapon. What else do you want to do? You are the one walking around with guilt. I can start a new life, do whatever I want to. You will never be stronger than me.”_

_Sinbad’s eyebrow twitched. He tried to ignore that sneering voice, wished that it had never existed in the first place._

_“It’s you who is responsible for this in the first place. You took everything from him.” Sinbad snapped, gaining an even bigger smile from the raven._

_“Was I? If I remember correctly, I wasn’t the first to take his power. I only used the opportunity you created to put my plan to motion.” Judar twirled around, looking at chaos around him._

_Sinbad bit his lip. The sword in his hand glowed, a new surge of power channeled through him. “I can make it as if it was never there.” He murmured. Judar tilted his head, but before he could ask what Sinbad meant, the purple haired man had pointed his sword to the sky again._

_“No one has to remember this. Let there be no memory left.” And once again, the world was filled in light._

**…**

He ran away, hiding in the shadows of the buildings around. Growls, heavy breathing… it was all around him. Nothing had helped to stop it. He was the only one who could see them, the only one they would hunt. But Sinbad was powerless. His sword was gone, the clothes had lost their power the moment after his final attack towards Judar, towards the whole world. All energy had been put in his last and biggest wish. After that, it hadn’t returned to him. Not even after weeks had passed.  

No one knew, no one could remember what had happened weeks earlier. Even if they had tried their best to think about it, there was no memory left of the monsters or of Ja’far’s strange behavior. Ja’far… how that still tortured Sinbad inside. Every day, when he walked to his own classroom, he couldn’t help but to spot the guy sitting at his desk. Onyx eyes never seemed to get a grip on reality. Sinbad had been powerless, even when he could delete all memories in the world. He could never give back what was gone. It was just ‘normal’ now. There were no questions about it. The school didn’t complain and Ja’far could live his life.

Sinbad, however, could not. The scent of magic still filled his clothes. Wherever he went, monsters could track him. The power had left him already, there was nothing to gain. But the stench, the thought of there being anything that could give strength, it was enough to drive the smallest creature mad. There was no longer rest present in Sinbad’s life. School, monsters, food and sleep, that was all there was for him to do. Day in, day out. Nothing else.

Looking beside him, he noticed red eyes had found him. Rows of teeth showed in a grin, a soft growl echoed across the abandoned alley. Yes, his old life was far behind him. He finally knew how Ja’far had felt all those years. It was something he didn’t wish for anyone to happen.

“Shit…” It escaped his mouth in a whisper. He wasn’t ready for this yet. But he would soon. It was a promise he had made to himself. If Ja’far wasn’t there to protect the world, then Sinbad could do it instead. As the only person with his memories, as the only person who knew how the world could be without him.

**…**

Sinbad trained. Every day, every minute he had nothing to do, he would try to become stronger. Ja’far had been able to deflect some monsters without the power of magic. As his replacement, Sinbad felt he had to do the same.

**…**

On one of his late walks, Sinbad heard a familiar voice. A male scream followed by the roar of a monster. Sinbad’s eyes widened at the sight he found. Ja’far lay on the ground, a creature, similar to a wolf pinned him down on the pavement. Sinbad didn’t have to think about it. In a reflex he pushed the wolf aside. It whined and took a few steps back. Sinbad hit it once more, leaving the creature with a wound across its eye. Finally it left, still growling in anger and fear.

“Are you okay?” Sinbad asked, holding his hand out to Ja’far. "This is kinda like paying you back, Ja'far." He added with a smile.

Ja’far tilted his head and doubtfully took the hand to pull himself back onto his feet.

“Thanks… Sinbad, right? From class A?”

Sinbad nodded softly. That was right, Ja’far wouldn’t remember him anymore. Except for the few times Sinbad came to deliver some papers at his desk, they never saw or spoke to each other.

“What are you doing out this late?” Ja’far asked.

“I could ask you the same. Getting attacked out here. You must’ve been terrified, right?” Sinbad joked.

“Not really. I come out here every night. I wasn’t scared, I have never felt such an emotion before. But I guess fear would be an emotion that is right to feel in such a situation.”

Sinbad looked down at the guy in pity. No emotions, nothing left to feel.

“I see.” Was all that Sinbad could think of to say. “Still you should head home, it’s not safe around this time. Especially if ‘they’ start to notice you.”

Ja’far nodded and looked in the direction the wolf had walked in. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Sinbad waved at Ja’far as the male left in the dark. His hand dropped down to his side.  He wanted to keep him by his side. A partner to fight those monsters. They both seemed to be able to see them. And being alone wasn’t something Sinbad was made for. He needed a partner, but Ja’far couldn’t be that partner. He couldn’t bring him in danger once again. Not ever. He sighed.

“Yeah… see you tomorrow.”

**…**

Ja’far wasn’t safe at all. He didn’t need to be by Sinbad’s side to be spotted and attacked. Sinbad stopped counting the times he found Ja’far cornered by monsters, only to be saved a few seconds later. It seemed fine in the beginning, Sinbad was there to help him out. But even he knew he couldn’t be there every time something happened. And his assumptions had come true.

One morning Ja’far came to school as if nothing happened. His face without expression as always. While there was so much reason to have an expression. Blood dripped down from his shirt. Unnoticeable in the beginning, but as the day passed, the red liquid found its way through the fabric. It fell down to the floor, so softly, his classmates didn’t notice. Ja’far had always been pale, this didn’t make a difference.

“Ja’far!” Ja’far looked up at shining amber eyes.

“What’s with that arm of yours?” Sinbad pointed at the growing stain of blood.

“It was an attack. It doesn’t hurt though.” Ja’far responded and turned away again.

“That it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t mean you should do something about it. Please fix it, Ja’far. You can’t do this any longer.” Sinbad tried to reason and grabbed Ja’far’s hurt arm. The latter shook him of immediately, not wincing from the pain even once.

“Just go.  I’m fine on my own.”

“You clearly aren’t.” Sinbad stated as he grabbed Ja’far shoulder, tighter than before.

“Fine.” Ja’far sighed. And followed his new ‘friend’. Sinbad eyed at him from over his shoulder. His heart felt broken from all the harsh words Ja’far had outed towards him. But at the same time he was relieved. Ja’far seemed to have enough emotions to be angry. If those were his own emotions. He had heard rumors around the school ground. Ja’far was imitating people. Whenever someone showed an emotion he would do the same thing. He learned himself emotions by following the example of others.

“Things really won’t go back to normal, will they?” Sinbad said, mostly to himself.

“I don’t know what you mean. Everything was normal until you started to bother with my life.” Ja’far muttered. Sinbad knew that was true. Whether it was now or in their previous memories, Sinbad would always be the one to stir up Ja’far life and push it to a different direction.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Sinbad answered. “Well whatever, let’s get that arm patched up first.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who needs solid pace in a story? :)

“Ja’far, don’t stay behind.” Sinbad called out as he jumped from roof to roof. From the corner of his eye, he could see the pale figure standing at the other side.

“It’s only a two meter jump. Don’t be afraid of it.” He added, but at the same time Sinbad knew Ja’far wasn’t afraid of this. Those blank eyes did not hold a spark of fear, if anything, they showed doubt. Doubt if following Sinbad was the right thing to do. Sinbad didn’t blame him for that. In a rush, the older male had dragged Ja’far with him. He just couldn’t take it any longer. Seeing Ja’far like this, being hunted for no good reason, Sinbad hated it. That was the reason he had decided to keep Ja’far with him from now on. It could be dangerous, but nothing was as scary as knowing that he could be killed when Sinbad wasn’t around him. It was a safety measure, nothing more than that.

Ja’far stayed silent, watching as Sinbad walked to the edge of the building. “You’re going to fight?” He whispered eventually.

“What? Are you worried for once?” Sinbad laughed.

“Do I look like I am?” Ja’far asked as he tilted his head slightly.

“Maybe you do. Just stay up here, you should be safe. I’m coming back for you when it’s all over.” Sinbad said and jumped down to where his enemy waited for him.

**…**

He couldn’t remember when it started. At first it seemed like the electricity in town started to hate him. Doorknobs, vending machines, animals… they all appeared to give him shocks. He wished to ignore it, until he could no longer deny the fact.

His magic was returning.

A feeling of energy surged through his body. Soft bolts of lightning danced around his fingers. It wasn’t much, nothing like he had felt back when he fought Judar. But still it felt good, a feeling he had longed to feel after such a long time.

“This is great.” He muttered under his breath.  He played with the lightning a little more, before he fell back to his bed.

“Now I’ll be able to protect him even better.”

**…**

Magic made things much easier. He was no longer forced to only trust his physical strength. When attacked from multiple sides, it was better to blast the monsters away than to try and hit every single one with them with his fists or kicks.

“Sin…” Sinbad looked up when he heard Ja’far call him like that. He had never done that before, but Sinbad noticed it had become more of a habit ever since they had teamed up.

“What’s wrong?” Sinbad asked when the other stayed silent.

“This feeling, I haven’t felt like this in ages.” Ja’far murmured as he stared at his fingers.

“What feeling?”

“I’m not sure. It’s like a surge of energy. It’s as if I regained something I had lost for so long. I have never felt this relieved… is that even the right word?” He laughed shyly.

Sinbad tilted his head, his mind not registering the situation perfectly. It was something it the way Ja’far expressed himself. The way happiness showed on his face.

“Wait,” Sinbad said as his mind continued to work on full power, “you are feeling emotions?” That wasn’t possible Those had been lost for ages and Ja’far hadn’t shown a sign of retrieving them ever since. Then why did he get them now?

Ja’far nodded slightly. “I think so. I started feeling this around a week ago. Ever since you told me to join you, this all came to me.”

Sinbad decided not to speak a single word after that. His thoughts were taking over with worry. It wasn’t right for Ja’far to regain all of this. Surely Sinbad felt happy and he tried his best to show that. But most of all, Sinbad was scared. Scared that the emotions weren’t the only things that found their way back to their original owner.

**…**

Terrified.

Sinbad was absolutely terrified of the current situation. How could this be happening? It was great for Ja’far but for Sinbad it felt like torture. Watching Ja’far slowly returning to his old self, getting back his smile even though it was still forced. No, the emotions weren’t that bad, everything that followed was.

_\--------_

_The power Sinbad had gained grew every day. Somedays, his room was filled with fig leafs. Other days the thunder nearly hit his house as if to find its powerful ally. And Sinbad didn’t mind this. He had gotten used to it and enjoyed the feeling of power. He only wished to feel all of it again. He wanted to carry his sword around and slay monster as if nothing had happened. Perhaps he could try and murder Judar for everything he had done._

_Still power could not keep Sinbad out of trouble. The growing force called out to enemies. It had been bad with only a soft scent of magic, but now. It was no longer possible to walk around the city without spotting the glaring eyes from walls and alleyways._

_Ja’far wasn’t with him. Sinbad had felt like it was a bad idea, but the gray haired male had wished to go to school instead of skipping classes. He always did, Sinbad had accepted that a long time ago. How bad could things be? Ja’far had gotten stronger as well. He knew how to fend of monster or how to run away._

_Sinbad walked across the main street, lost in within his own mind. He was a real dreamer, he had always been like that. The trouble surrounding him only made it worse._

_He didn’t notice the crackling sound of electricity coming from a nearby alley. The sound grew louder, white flashes appeared in the corner of his eyes._

_He noticed when a ray of lightning flew out of the alley. The head of a roaring dragon decorated the top of it, a trail of red came after._

_Confused, Sinbad looked at the side. His eyes widened as he saw the figure standing in the shadow of the building. His mouth fell open, words left him._

_Eyes met and Sinbad slowly found his voice again. The name left his lips in nothing but a whisper._

_\-------_

“Ja’far!”

Sinbad dropped down next to his partner. In front of their feet lay a group of what had once been young wolves. Their dark fur burned softly, the skin blackened with ash. Smoke rose up in a small strand.

“Ah Sin. What were you doing? I couldn’t wait for you forever. These guys were weak, but try arriving on time one day.” Ja’far said in sneering remark.

“Yeah.” Sinbad answered as he let his eyes drift away from the burning animals. “I’m glad you’re not hurt though. You’re easily found, using your power like that.”

“It’s called practice. You should know that.” Ja’far replied as he crossed his arms.

“I do know, I just don’t want to see you in needles danger. If you can wait for me than just do so. You knew I was coming.”

“Seriously, when you’re like this I understand why our classes were fighting.” Ja’far snapped.

Sinbad stopped in his tracks at those words. He was certain his heart had skipped a few beats.

“What did you just say?” He asked, hoping his ears had fooled him.

“Our classes. You know, Pisti against Sharrkan, me against you, all of class A against class B. Why did we even stop in the first place? We’re still arguing right now.” Ja’far answered him. His eyes drifted off to the sky as he tried to figure out what it was he tried to remember.

“We just did, it wasn’t needed any longer. What does it matter anyway, it’s better to forget about it and continue what we’re doing.” Sinbad sneered.

“As if.” Ja’far turned around, facing Sinbad again, “I get a feeling you’re holding things from me. What is it you’re afraid of?” A tone of anger waved through the flow of words.

“There is-“ Sinbad stop talking. His eyes widened as he saw black legs crawl down the wall. “Ja-“

_-smack-_

In a single punch the creature was splattered against the wall. As blood dripped down the wall and his fist, Ja’far looked at Sinbad one more time.

“Do we really need to hold secrets towards each other?” He whispered before walking off again.

Sinbad could only stare at the slaughtered monster. Ja’far did return to his former grumpy self. Whether he liked it or not, it was not something Sinbad could stop. He had to start accepting Ja’far was stronger than he wanted. That he could regain what he was missing by fighting by his side. He had nothing  to do against it. Except for that one magic.   

He clenched his fist as he watched the last bit of Ja’far’s back disappear. There was no other option. He would do it the next time.

**…**

Something within Sinbad hoped the next monster would never show up, but they had always come when he didn’t want them to. He watched as the last burned parts turned to ash and blew away. Sinbad had been the one to deal the finishing blow. As powerful as Ja’far’s thunder dragons had become, nothing could beat Sinbad’s full lightning bolts.

He felt a soft pat on his shoulder. At his side stood Ja’far, smiling as if nothing had happened the day before.

“You’re getting stronger than I ever was when I did this job.” He spoke in a sigh of relief.

“What do you mean by that?” Sinbad said, his eyes fixed to the ground as he listened to what were supposed to be kind words.

“Like I said, I think this place would’ve been fine with just you. But I’m glad it could be like this.”

Sinbad didn’t answer him again. Horror showed on his face. His hand clenched into a tight fist. There was no doubt about it. Ja’far knew everything. How long had he been hiding it? How much feelings of hatred did he bear?  

Slowly he took a step back. He had to concentrate. This magic needed much of his strength. Possibly, he would lose his magic one more time. But that was fine. He would just leave forever. If he was gone, then Ja’far would be allowed to live a peaceful life.

“What are you doing?” Ja’far asked when he noticed the distance Sinbad had created between them. A soft ray of light formed in the older man’s hands, almost soothing, even though it was anything but that.

“This is the best for both of us.” Sinbad whispered, averting his gaze.

The words hit Ja’far in its full meaning. I would all be lost again. All lose ties he had finally put together. He felt like he could not look at Sinbad, but he had to. His onyx eyes tried to meet amber ones, but Sinbad did everything to avoid eye contact.

“Sin, can’t we just stay the same? All of that is in the past.” He whispered, but Sinbad only shook his head slightly as he stretched his arm out to Ja’far’s face. His eyes still found place on the ground as their bodies were engulfed in light.

“…We can’t.” He eventually said softly,

“…not when you remember all that happened to you because of me”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 6 months I return to this fic! I want to finish it, so hopefully I can do that soon. Sorry for OOC Judar, but it was necessary. You'll know why

Weeks passed, months passed. Life went on. Went on as if nothing had ever happened. There were no monsters, no villains trying to take over the moon. There was peace and it had always been there. But something was missing. Not just something, more like ‘someone’. But Ja’far couldn’t remember who it was. In the back of his head he knew there was someone he was missing. There was an empty place in his heart. But there was no one he could be missing. His life had always been like this, hadn’t it? Alone…

Ja’far went on with his life. He stopped going to school after he finished his last year. Sharrkan and Pisti didn’t want him to go, but they couldn’t stop him. As much as his classmates had tried to stay close to him, Ja’far couldn’t get himself to maintain the social contact. He wanted to be alone so he could study in his own time, without the responsibilities that came with school.

Soon he came to realize that it wasn’t just the feeling of someone missing that had left his heart torn. He also missed something. Perhaps that was the real reason he felt a hole in his heart. He missed an important feeling. Was it love? Was it something else. He didn’t know. He couldn’t tell what it was that he needed. And so he tried to ignore it. Having it slowly bite at him, destroying him until he couldn’t take it any longer.

**…**

Judar had found himself alone when everything had ended. With no memory left of what he had been doing before, he wandered. He didn’t know what it was he wanted. Did he want to follow the deep desire to cause problems or did he want to find peace for once?

He was confused and let his confusion lead him. Wandering  through streets, waiting for his mind to make up on what it wanted to do. But the answer never came. He was lost. Ideas that had once laid out the road he walked, were gone. All had been erased in a single blow. There was nothing left and so he searched. Searched for months until he found something he had been looking for.

**…**

They met each other in summer, when they ran into each other on the street. One was lost in thoughts, the other looking at his phone. Not knowing who was the one at fault, an invitation for a drink was given as a proper apology. Things started from there. They met up more, not just to make up for things, they started to enjoy each other’s presence.

For Ja’far it filled up some of the emptiness in his heart. There was another man who was as broken as he was. A man who he could talk to, someone who could give advice, it being hidden in many layers of sarcasm however.  Still it was comforting. He wasn’t alone in this world and deep inside he knew that Judar cared.

For Judar, Ja’far was a way to keep his thoughts together. He had a road in front of him again. Perhaps this road wasn’t the most stable one, perhaps it was on the verge of collapsing sometimes, but he was happy with it. He had a solid view for the future again. As long as Ja’far was at his side, he was fine. But there was something deep inside him that wanted to do more with Ja’far. Not the loving and caring. Not the shared beds and late cuddles. At night a thought would come to him. A thought telling him to hurt Ja’far, to extract a power residing inside of him. What it was, Judar never found out. The thoughts would only last for a few seconds. When he’d look at Ja’far’s figure, sitting at a desk to finish some last paperwork, the thoughts would fly away again. A complaining comment of ‘why are you always working, it’s boring’  would leave Judar’s mouth. Answered with ‘someone has to do it’, Judar would grin and curl up in bed. It always went like that and for the couple it was how they talked to each other. Any other person would think they were having troubles, but the truth was they couldn’t get along better.

**…**

“I want to leave.” Ja’far sighed as he poked at the fish in front of him with a fork.

“What?” Judar responded,  leaning over the table, placing his both arms down. “Did you grow tired of me after all this time? I never expected that.”

Ja’far shook his head softly, not looking up from his plate. “I don’t mean it like that. I love your presence. It’s just…,” He closed his eyes and stopped poking at his dinner, “I want to leave this place. There’s something I’m looking for in my life and I feel like I can’t enjoy myself to the fullest until I’ve found it.”

Judar tilted his head, letting out a cocky smile. “Really now? Do you ever enjoy yourself though?” He asked. Seeing  Ja’far’s expression didn’t change one bit he let out a ‘tch’ before he continued to talk. “So what is it you’re missing? Don’t you have everything with me by your side?”

“I don’t know what it is. But even if we can’t find it, don’t you think it’d be good to do something else? To leave all these people behind and go on an adventure?” Ja’far answered.

The word adventure seemed to awaken something in Judar. Before Ja’far knew it, the raven had left the table and was standing at Ja’far’s side.

“When do we leave?”

**…**

They started explore the remote regions, the places where no man wanted to set foot. Mostly because Ja’far was sure it was there that he would find what he had lost. Another reason being that neither of them wanted to be around people. They only wanted to be around each other.

They saw rainforests, crossed deserts and sailed oceans. As beautiful as it was, it wasn’t what Ja’far had been looking for. He wasn’t searching for the beauty of nature.

But then he found it. In the plains, they found a single house and as they came closer, Ja’far felt his heart skip a beat.

Long, purple hair blew I the wind.

“It’s you… I’ve found you…” Ja’far muttered as he stood and watched the stranger turn around.

Amber eyes were looking right back at him. As shock was written all over his face, the man whispered.

“So you’re back… Ja’far”

**…**

After the incident with Judar, Sinbad had hoped to disappear forever. He didn’t want to be in the world anymore. He didn’t want to be there to destroy Ja’far’s life more than he already had. There would be no one missing him. The people’s memories were gone. There was no one left to remember how Ja’far had changed from grumpy to emotionless. How monsters had been out to kill people as Ja’far tried to stop them. That was all gone and now Sinbad would be gone as well. Leaving no memory of him behind, he hoped to finally live an easy life.

After crossing all of the world, he found peace in the plains. In some way it reminded him of his home. Back when he had been living in a small village, along with his parents. A place where the sun had always been shining and where he had been a happy with only a few things.

He built a simple house in the grasslands. Along with a few sheep and a small garden, he found life to be a good one. As time passed, he even thought he could forget about the things he had done. But that was just a thought. As the only one with memories of it all, he needed to carry that burden. It was his punishment. A punishment he had given himself.  After ruining many lives, he had to.

But then it all changed again. He had just hoarded his sheep back to the house, a cute girl from the nearby village had helped him out with the harvest. And then HE was there.

Out of nowhere he appeared. That white hair, those dull black eyes. It was just like the day he had left him.

_Ja’far_

“So you’re back…” Sinbad whispered, trying to understand the situation. Ja’far was there and behind him,

“Judar?” What was he doing there, with Ja’far of all people? Didn’t Ja’far know that Judar was also responsible for this mess? Then Sinbad realized that indeed Ja’far didn’t know. If anything, it must’ve been coincidence for the two to meet and hang around. 

“What’s this? A silly house in such a pace? And only an old man who doesn’t even welcome us. Let’s go, Ja’far! We’re not looking for something like this.” Judar said as he walked to the house and knocked against the simple wooden walls. Sinbad could feel the rage building up inside him. Judar was standing right in front of his house. The only place Sinbad could find comfort! He didn’t want it to be tainted by the man he hated the most. But it wasn’t just Judar who he wanted gone. Perhaps Ja’far was someone who he wanted to leave even more. Not again could he handle the torture of watching this man.

 _‘please Ja’far, just leave. You don’t belong here._ ’ Sinbad repeated in his head, hoping that somehow his thoughts would get through to him. 

“No.” At the sound of the word both Sinbad and Judar looked up in surprise. “We’re staying here Judar. It’s here, I can feel it. This is the place we were looking for.”

“What are you saying?” Judar yelled, running back to Ja’far and grabbing his shoulders. “You mean you wanted to travel all across the world for this… this bullshit!?”

“He must be right.” Sinbad said, nodding. Oh how much he hated to agree with Judar. “You two shouldn’t be here.”  

Ja’far looked away. “I want to stay here. Please understand, Judar.” He bit his lip after he spoke.

Judar sighed. Shrugging his shoulders, he let go of Ja’far and turned to face Sinbad. “It seems we’re not leaving. The sun is setting anyways and the village is too far away to find a place to stay there. So we’re in your care, old man.”

“I’m not an old man.” Sinbad growled, watching the younger man pass by.

“Whatever you say.” Judar said as he opened the door to the house and walked inside. The urge to take Judar down in that one moment was almost irresistible. But Sinbad couldn’t do that. Not with Ja’far watching. Not when he tried to get rid of his past. He had to make sure that no one would know about what happened. Judar didn’t seem to remember and Ja’far’s dull eyes said enough about the state of his memories. He would wait.

Tomorrow he’d try to get the two to leave his house again. If only he could get rid of Judar’s presence though. To make sure that he wouldn’t be an influence in Ja’far’s anymore. There was nothing good coming from Judar. And knowing the things that Judar had done before, he could only be using Ja’far. Whatever Ja’far saw in him was nothing but lies.

And Sinbad would show that to him.

He would show him what was fake.

Except Sinbad already knew that the whole world he had given Ja’far was fake.  


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished this chapter a long time ago and never posted it... oops

The next day, Sinbad wished to throw Judar out of his house. Yet he failed at his attempts. No, Judar wouldn’t leave until he had breakfast, something Sinbad couldn’t really offer him. Not Judar’s standards of a breakfast at least. Ja’far on the other hand wouldn’t leave even if he had a breakfast. Sinbad was sure that he knew something.

Life went on for Sinbad and as the morning passed, he went to bring his sheep out to the plains.  The poor animals had to eat something and Sinbad needed the fresh air as well. To clear his mind, to not see Ja’far’s saddened face. He wished for both Judar and Ja’far to be gone when he came back at sunset, but he was mistaken.

**…**

Judar was standing there. A book in his hands. A book Sinbad knew  all too well. It’s his own diary. The one place where he had felt the trust to write down everything that had happened. Every single detail written out, now in the hands of his enemy. A grin spread across Judar’s face, a snickering laugh filled the room.

“I remember everything now.” Judar said, swaying the diary in his hands.

Sinbad gritted his teeth. “Good. Then stay away from him.” He growled.

Judar laughed instead. “But doesn’t he need someone to protect him from you?”

Curse Judar for reading that diary. Even if he wrote that down, he didn’t mean… didn’t mean this! “He does, but that person isn’t you.” Never would he let Judar close again. It wouldn’t be his plan to let the one responsible of Ja’far entire mental state to worsen things more than they had already done.

Judar shrugged his shoulders, obviously not caring about Sinbad’s words. “I don’t know, Sinbad. I’ve been doing a better job of protecting him that you have.”

“Only because there was nothing left of him you could use.” Sinbad answered him, almost yelling. “What would you do if he regained his powers, or his memories? You wouldn’t love him anymore, would you?

“What I would do… well that’s easy.” Judar’s grin spread even wider, to an almost inhumane size. “I’ll squeeze him dry over and over again until he’s begging for me to stop. Until whatever emotions he’s regained are lost and dead again. And I’ll just keep on squeezing until his own life runs out-“

Sinbad wanted to hit him. The urge was almost overwhelming and irresistible. “If you ever try that, I won’t let you live. I’ll erase you of this world and not just from people’s memories.”

“I’d love to see you try. How would you anyways?” Judar grinned and leaned forward, his head not more than a few centimeters away from Sinbad’s. “You don’t have magic, you don’t have weapons, you don’t have anything, not even Ja’far. You can’t do shit to me, Sinbad. Especially not if Ja’far still cares about me.”

Even if the small space between him and Judar made Sinbad uncomfortable, he didn’t step back. Not in front of Judar, he couldn’t show any weakness now.

“Neither do you,” he answered the cocky raven, “Without your fancy machines you are just as weak as I am. Or do you need a reminder of how I act when I’m angry. The last time you were lucky to survive.”

Judar’s smile faded slightly at the reminder that Sinbad, physically, was a lot stronger than him.

“Either way, Ja’far still prefers me over you.” Judar said, knowing that that much was true, “You might’ve been the one he loved before, but he’s moved on. You’re just a crazy person he pities. That’s the only reason why we’re still letting you hang around us.”

“This is my house, Judar. I’m _letting_ you guys stay here!” Sinbad snapped at him. “Why would he follow you in the first place? If anything, it’s you he pities. He will leave you if he knew you’re no good for him. He can live without the both of us. There’s someone who will save him.”

Judar sneered. “So you actually think there’s someone out there for him? You’re pathetic. Do you really care for him that much to abandon your own selfishness? He won’t leave me, Sinbad. You don’t know what we’ve been through together. There’s a bond between Ja’far and me, one much stronger than the bond he had with you, and neither of us are going to give that up.”  

Sinbad averted his gaze. “Your bond can’t be that strong. What we had was more than you could wish for. Even if I deleted all of it, I could destroy yours if I wanted to. I may be naïve for thinking there’s someone out there for him, but it’s always better than seeing him with you any longer.”

Judar clicked his tongue. “Ah, there’s the selfishness I was looking for. Haven’t you thought about what Ja’far wants? Maybe he just wants to stay by side because of the thrill our relationship gives him. He can’t live without me, that much I’ve ensured.” An eyebrows cocked. “Do you want me to call him over and see.”

“I have thought about what he wants, and he would never want a relationship that could end in him getting hurt.” The words flew out of his mouth, hoping to hit Judar in a way to pull him back to reality. “You can call him, he’ll chose me or no one. Just not you.” As he spoke, he started to feel doubt in his words. Ja’far wouldn’t leave him that easy, right? After all, Sinbad was the man who left everyone behind.

Judar’s eyes widened. “Really? REALLY? You’ll actually risk that?” For a moment he paused, then a dark smile spread across his face, “… if that’s what you want.” The words left his mouth and Judar strode past Sinbad, opening the door of his room and shouting down the corridor. “Oi, Jafar! Do you think you can help us out here?”  

There’s a distant reply of Ja’far and Judar shut the door, folding his arms and grinning. “You can hear his footsteps. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Sinbad felt his stomach turn as Ja’far’s footsteps came closer. “I have nothing to fear if it’s about him.” He said, but he knew that’s nothing but a lie. He hoped to stay in silence for a long time,  but his house wasn’t big and soon Ja’far’s footsteps were too close, already in the room.

“Did you need me, Judar?” The pale man asked before noticing Sinbad.

“Yep!” Judar replied, almost too enthusiastically. “Ja’far would you rather have a relationship with me, Sinbad or no one at all?”

Ja’far blinked, confused. He opens his mouth to reply, before his eyes settled on Sinbad and his mouth closes again. For a moment there’s a long silence and Ja’far looked like he wanted to say something as he held his gaze. He didn’t though, his eyes flitting back to Judar instead. “I thought I was already in a relationship with you.”

Sinbad felt his heart slowly breaking. It can’t be that it’s going to end like this? “But-“ Sinbad said in a way to save himself from becoming desperate, “it doesn’t matter who you’re in a relationship with. Who do you prefer? If you could have anyone you’d like?” He knew this sounds more desperate than he had wanted. He could see the helplessness in the man’s eyes, defeat was staring right at him with dead eyes. And hell, he’s sure Judar was about to start laughing in his face if he looked at the guy. Indeed Judar grinned as Ja’far paused to deliberate. _‘Oh boy, oh boy. Ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy! This was going to be so much fun.’_

Ja’far frowned, a finger tapping at his chin. “Is that so…? Then…” His eyes flitted from Judar to Sinbad, and then back to Judar again. “…I’m not sure. If we ignore the fact that I’m already in a relationship with Judar, I would say…

_No one at all.”_

 

Judar blinked, jaw dropping. “No one? Y-you can’t say that!”

Sinbad’s mouth almost fell open when he heard those four, saving words. “No one?” He asked, to make sure he didn’t hear it wrong. “No one.” Ja’far repeated.

“Then why are you still with Judar? If you don’t want to be with someone, you could be free.” His voice was calm, but his eyes drifted off to Judar. His eyes weren’t calm at all, they showed victory, mocking Judar as he stood alone.

Ja’far frowned. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if we’re in a relationship or not. People always think we are, so I just went with that. It’s not like I feel anything towards him. Or in general.”

Judar spluttered in response, red eyes widening. “Ja’far! Y-you can’t tell that to him! We’re practically in a relationship, you just don’t know it.”

“No, we aren’t.” Ja’far returned calmly. “Judar, we’ve been over this already. We both have goals here in this new country and we’re going along with each other to make sure achieve them. We only agreed to say we’re in a relationship to prevent complications.” 

“So that means you can go, or at least run away from Judar’s influences. You deserve to be free Ja’far. No one can hold you down if you don’t want it.” Sinbad said. Oh the feeling of victory was a nice one. Better than anything he had felt before.

 “And by the way, Judar,” Sinbad looked down at him, his defeated form. This time felt better than when he destroyed everything Judar had built to control the world. This time he took the last thing Judar had and the thing he had stolen from Sinbad. “What will you do now? I won our little bet. He doesn’t need you.”

Ja’far blinks. “Why were you guys betting about something like this?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Judar snarled suddenly, eyes narrowing. “He’s still MINE! Do you think he’ll want to be with you once he remembers? I won’t let that happen! I’ll keep him to myself, wringing him dry of magical power and let him rejuvenate before wringing him again, like a damn reusable towel and I won’t let you take him away!”

“It’s true our bet doesn’t matter, but you’re not going to use him! He has no powers, he won’t get them back soon either and thus you can’t do what you want with him. It’s your fault he’s like this in the first place. Just stay away from him! Ja’far isn’t an object.” Sinbad yelled. He had had enough of Judar and his foul words.

He watched Ja’far, who was slowly taking a few steps back. “What are you two talking about?” The gray-haired man asked in a whisper.

“None of your business!” Judar snaped back. “You don’t fucking remember after all!” He paused, and went back to loom over Ja’far, who back away in return. “But if you did…”

Ja’far reached for the door, only for his hand to be slapped away from the doorknob. “Judar… What is going on? What don’t I remember?” He was being cornered by the angry male, and desperate black eyes glanced at Sinbad for any sign of help.

“Judar! LET! HIM! GO!” Sinbad yelled as he hurried to the two. He tried to separate them, something that went with difficulty even if he was the one possessing the bigger strength. “He doesn’t have to remember anything. Why can’t you just live with that?!” Another lie. How could he tell someone to live with this if he was the one who couldn’t forgive himself all the time.

“Stop talking riddles!” Ja’far snapped, the mystery surrounding him becoming too much. “Just tell me what’s going on. You’re talking about me when I’m the one who doesn’t know what it is you’re fighting over.”

Judar glared at Ja’far before letting him go and stomping away. “You explain to him, Sinbad. I’m done with this. Done with his whole amnesia shit. Do you know how long I’ve had to deal with his cluelessness? It’s pathetic. Disgusting.”

Ja’far watched Judar leave, the slam of the door ringing in his ears. He turned back to Sinbad, loss for words. “Amnesia? Sinbad, what is he talking about?” There’s a slight furrowing in his brows. Judar had never been so angry in front of him. It was as if he was a different person.

Sinbad looked away. He couldn’t face Jafar, not like this. “I’m sorry, Ja’far.” He muttered, “I can’t tell you, I don’t want to go through everything again. I thought I could forget everything, just like I had you and the rest of the world forget me and the past. Even if you want to know the answer, it’s not something for me to talk about. I… if I told you, your world would be a lie and I don’t want to see you being destroyed again.” He knew Ja’far wouldn’t accept that answer, why should he. This was just wrong, Ja’far should never have found him or he should have disappeared in a better way.

He sighed, admitting that there was nothing he could do. “Ja’far… even if I told you, you would never believe me. If I were to tell you that we spend years together, fighting together, would you believe everything? Even if it defied human logic?”

“Right now,” Ja’far said, leaning against the wall, “nothing you said made sense, so you better start talking.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this story can go back into the void


End file.
